Countrywide under Illinois probe, NY Times says

NEW YORK -- The home loan unit of Countrywide Financial Corp, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, is under investigation by Illinois' attorney general over dubious lending practices, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

Lisa Madigan, the state's attorney general, has subpoenaed documents from Countrywide on its loan operations, the Times reported, citing an anonymous source it said was briefed on the matter.

A Countrywide spokesman declined to comment, according to the Times. The company did not immediately return a call for comment early on Thursday.

Countrywide, the most high-profile lender at the center of the mortgage crisis, is already facing scrutiny by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over stock sales by Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo. It also faces five class-action lawsuits from investors charging that it inflated earnings.

Countrywide has also faced heavy criticism from U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, and others for putting borrowers into home loans they could not afford in the pursuit of profit.